Beacon will be lit for the Queen’s 90th

It is a long and unbroken tradition that is quintessentially British – the lighting of beacons across the country to mark Royal jubilees, weddings, coronations and special birthdays.

And on April 21, when the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday, it will be no different.

View of Halifax from Beacon Hill

Traditional bonfires, specially built gas-fuelled structures, and braziers on top of tall wooden posts will glow around the country.

The Queen herself will light the first of the chain of more than 1,000 beacons.

In Wakefield, a beacon will be lit outside the Town Hall on April 21, as part of a musical charity evening.

Mayor of Wakefield Coun June Cliffe will host the event inside the building on Wood Street to honour Her Majesty’s birthday.

Featherstone Male Voice Choir and Lofthouse 2000 Brass Band will entertain guests, who, during the interval, will be invited to see the beacon being lit.

Tickets for the event cost £10 and the money raised will be donated to the Mayor’s Charity, which is supporting Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Dementia and Children’s Meningitis.

During the daytime, the Mayor will also host a ‘Mayor at Home’ event, welcoming visitors to join her for light refreshments and charity fundraising between 1pm and 4pm.

Meanwhile, the Queen will mark her milestone with a dinner staged in her honour by her family.

And on her official birthday, which this year falls on Saturday June 11, there will be a weekend of celebrations, including the traditional Trooping the Colour and the Patron’s Lunch, where 10,000 guest, including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, will gather in The Mall for a sit-down celebration.

The full list of beacon sites is due to be formally released until April 13.